Kick-starting the week with an eclectic bundle of uplifting news nuggets.
Harrison Honoured
Harrison Ford has had a Peruvian snake species named after him. The newly discovered species has been named Tachymenoides harrisonfordi to honour the actor’s environmental advocacy. The actor, who is the vice chair of non-profit group Conservation International, said it was a “humbling” development. His legendary Indiana Jones character fears snakes, noted the BBC, but Ford said he personally likes serpents and “found a quick kinship with this one”.
Lost in Translation?
As Japan enjoys a post-pandemic resurgence in tourism from around the globe, Seibu Railway is testing out an automated translation window to help confused foreigners navigate one of Tokyo's most complex transportation hubs. The device, called VoiceBiz, lets customers speak to a station attendant over microphones and spells out their words in Japanese and one of 11 other languages. When two users converse, real-time translations appear as text bubbles on either side of the screen. Its transparent quality allows for eye contact as well as for facial expressions to be conveyed - something that is usually lost by talking via translation apps.
Circular Water
San Francisco is now at the forefront of global efforts to recycle wastewater from commercial buildings, homes, and neighbourhoods, following a 2015 law that required all new buildings of more than 100,000 square feet to have on-site recycling systems. There are now 48 circular water systems in operation, and 29 more projects being planned in the city, reports Yale360.
Comedy Tracks
Germany, “the land of meticulous planning and clockwork punctuality, can’t seem to make its trains run on time”, said The Wall Street Journal. After a third of all long-distance services were late last year, the country’s national operator, Deutsche Bahn, is now “scrambling to soothe the nerves of its seething riders”. DB has also “starting trolling itself” on social media, and some staff have tried to “provide comic relief for raging passengers” via onboard announcements. “The train driver has not yet arrived because of another delayed train,” said one such announcement. “Unfortunately, we are currently blocking the track for his train. We are curious ourselves how this will be resolved.”
Ancient Canals
A sprawling network of irrigation canals across Spain, created by the Moors 1,000 years ago, are being excavated and brought back to life to adapt to climate change, says the New York Times. Over 100km (62 miles) have now been uncovered, with many, many more to come. 'Some farmers who were 80 or so were crying because they thought they would never see the water flowing again.'
US Farming
Pepsi and Walmart are collaborating to help North American farmers adopt regenerative agriculture practices across two million acres of farmland over the next seven years, says Footprint. Nestlé has also pledged £1 billion for regenerative agriculture across its supply chain and has committed to sourcing 50 percent of key ingredients from regenerative agriculture methods by 2030.
What is Regenerative Farming? First there was the debate about the pros and cons (and profitability) of organic versus intensive farming (organic won by a landslide), and now the focus has moved on to regenerative versus intensive farming. More...
Ocean's Plastic
This one's going to be controversial, but if accurate then it's very, very good news. According to Dutch researchers, who looked at over 20,000 measurements worldwide, the extent of plastic soup in the world's oceans is closer to 3.2 million tons, far smaller than the commonly accepted estimates of 50-300 million tons, reports the NL Times.
"No matter who you are, no matter what you did, no matter where you've come from, you can always change, become a better version of yourself." Madonna Ciccone
On this Day
21 August 1959: Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state.
Fake news isn’t exactly a new phenomenon. America has a long history of the media hoaxing its audience - and vice versa. The truth is out there...
Oldest Stained Glass Windows in Britain: Researchers have discovered the date and location. Medieval art...
Mood Booster
Jerusalema: Bhutan Airline staff strut their stuff to this wonderfully uplifting music.